The role of the family in teaching the child potential behaviors and norms for adult citizenship roles--anticipatory socialization--is explored in this study. Previous research has suggested that the structure of the family's communication patterns play an important role in socialization, and that families can be categorized according to emphasis on concepts or on social relations to produce four different types of families--laissez-faire, protective, pluralistic, consensual. It was hypothesized for this study that a strong concept-oriented family would stimulate a greater degree of anticipatory socialization, and in particular, the combination of weak socio-orientation with strong concept-orientation would give the resulting "pluralistic" child a greater awareness of his expected citizenship norms. Data were collected in a survey of 1300 families on type of family communication pattern and level and intensity of anticipatory socialization. Results of analyses of the data showed that pluralistic students expect that social norms will involve a greater level of political participation, and more generally, children from homes where concept orientation is emphasized were very similar with regard to the degree of intensity or certainty with which expectations were held. (Author/SH)